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1-877-777-2629
Local Telephone
973-575-0760
973-276-1931
FAX
973-575-0431
Postal address
Fluorotherm Polymers Inc.
333 New Road
Parsippany, NJ 07054
Electronic mail:
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Customer Support: sales@fluorotherm.com
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High
Temperature Use of PTFE, PFA and FEP
Fluoropolymers
such as PTFE, PFA, MFA and FEP, like other
plastics, are subject to some degradation
when exposed to temperatures above their
melt point over a period of time. Excessively
high temperatures lead to thermal decomposition,
as is the case with any polymer. Fumes or
gases may be given off, as a result of pyrolysis
from prolonged exposure of a given parcel
of PTFE, PFA and FEP to temperatures well
above their melting point. These fumes may
result in polymer fume fever, symptoms of
which pass off within 36 to 48 hours.
This scenario is not unlike the behavior of naturally occurring polymers such as rubber or silk, under similar thermal conditions. Adequate ventilation must be allowed when hot PTFE, FEP or PFA are processed. Containers of resin must be opened in well ventilated areas. Parameters for ventilation design may be obtained elsewhere.
The resins above do not support combustion. Combustion products are mainly CO2 and HF, with small amounts of carbon tetrafluoride (CCl4). In the case of a fire, PTFE, PFA and FEP resist ignition and do not promote flame spread.
Tobacco, cigarettes or cigars in particular, should be banned from use when working with these resins. Particulates occurring as a result of cutting and machining are physiologically inert. It is believed that may flu-like symptoms associated with machining operations result from smoking cigarettes contaminated with the resin.
For specific details, consult with the resin manufacturers and the manufacturer’s Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the specific fluoropolymer resin – PTFE, FEP, MFA, PFA, ETFE, PCTFE (or CTFE), ECTFE and PVDF.
A listing of the
resin manufacturers is given below:
PTFE, FEP, PFA - Teflon,® Neoflon®,
Hyflon®
MFA - Hyflon®
ETFE - Tefzel®, Neoflon®
ECTFE - Halar®
PCTFE (or CTFE) - Neoflon® (originally
Kel-F®)
PVDF - Solef®, Hylar®, Kynar®
Teflon®, Tefzel® are the trademarks
of E.I. DuPont de Nemours Company
Neoflon®, Polyfon® are the trademarks
of Daikin America Inc.
Hyflon®, Halar®, Hylar® are
the trademarks of Solvay Solexis, Inc.
Kynar® is the trademark of Elf Atochem
North America, Inc.
Kel-F® was the trademark of 3M Company
( this trade name is now discontinued)
PTFE and FEP resins meet the requirements of FDA Regulation 21 CFR 177 1550 and are accepted as safe for contact with food, and during processing and cooking. The National Sanitary Foundation (NSF) has found PTFE to be satisfactory for potable water supply use.
Although chemical inertness is a feature unique to fully fluorinated resins, there are some materials that do attack them (see Chemical Resistance). Among these are the alkali metals such as sodium and potassium. Strong fluorinating agents such as elemental fluorine and chlorine trifluoride react with PTFE, FEP, PFA and MFA.
